First published in Your Harlow on Wednesday 13th March 2024.
Dear Editor,
OVER the last two weeks, claims in Your Harlow by senior figures in the Labour Party, and from Stop School Cuts, have misled readers about the state of education in Harlow. Claims about a lack of funding do not reflect extensive capital investment in our local schools or the £3.9 billion funding increase this year compared to 2023.
Since 2010, I have championed education, skills and apprenticeships in Harlow. I am proud of what our town has done in this time, with children and young people accessing better quality education than ever before and climbing the ladder of opportunity. This Conservative Government has boosted the life chances of thousands of young people in Harlow by:
- Improving school standards – 85% of schools in Harlow are now rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted, up from 46% in 2010, thanks to the inspiring work of our teachers and support staff.
- Boosting school budgets – Harlow schools have seen a 15% increase in their budgets over the last two years, worth over £11.5 million. The minimum per pupil funding is almost £6,000 for secondary and over £4,500 for primary aged pupils per year. Over £23 million has been spent to upgrade schools in Harlow on top of funding for the new BMAT STEM university technical college, and the new SEND school, Greenwell Academy.
- Creating apprenticeship opportunities – over 9,120 young people have started apprenticeships in Harlow since 2010. This is up from just 100 in 2009. There are now over 680 apprenticeship standards at all levels in everything from aerospace to zoology with digital, healthcare, media, policing and everything in between. Labour’s plan to weaken the apprenticeship levy will halve the number of apprenticeship starts overall.
- Investing in Harlow College – from the new Electric Vehicle Centre to the new Institute of Technology, Government has invested £8.5 million in Harlow College in addition to core budgets since 2019. This is in addition to the £12 million Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering Centre which opened in 2017.
Nationally, an extra £2 billion over the next two years will take school funding to almost £60 billion, helping to deliver 27,000 new teachers in classrooms since 2010, putting English children at the top of the performance tables for reading and literacy in Europe, and cutting school absence rates.
Just this week, the Leader of the Opposition said that the arts had been ‘hammered’ – this is simply not true. This Government has invested £115 million in music, art & design and dance with half of all secondary aged students completing GCSE qualifications in an arts subject. In Harlow, we are investing in the arts by delivering a £23 million cultural quarter with workshop spaces and extra curricular arts programmes for people of all ages, whilst upgrading the Playhouse to ensure Harlow is front and centre of the creative arts sector.
I am proud of what we have achieved in Harlow, expanding apprenticeships, driving up standards of education and boosting social mobility all whilst putting our future generations at the heart of the educational landscape. I thank every single teacher and member of support staff who work tirelessly to deliver the best education possible for our children, students and apprentices.
Yours sincerely,
Robert
Rt Hon Robert Halfon MP
Member of Parliament for Harlow
